Usa 2012 usabyrail co uk is pleased to announce that the usa 2012 trip to the United States of America will visit New York before continuing on to Boston and finishing in Chicago

USAbyrail.co.uk is pleased to announce that the USA 2012 trip to the United States of America will visit New York before continuing on to Boston and finishing in Chicago. The trip will use Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor service between New York and Boston, then the Boston portion of the Lakeshore Limited between Boston and Chicago. Full details of this 9 day trip can be found below.

A morning departure from the United Kingdom sees a morning arrival at New York John F. Kennedy International Airport. After clearing Immigration and Customs, transfer to Downtown Manhattan will be by Airtrain service to Long Island Railroad’s Jamaica station and Long Island Railroad service from Jamaica to New York Penn Station. Our hotel is a short walk from New York Penn Station. The rest of the day is free to ride commuter rail service or Amtrak service from New York Penn Station or Grand Central Terminal, or to take in the sights around the city. Overnight in hotel.

The day is free to explore more of the New York and New Jersey railroad system or the tourist areas of this major city. Overnight in hotel.

Departure from New York Penn Station is scheduled for 7.00am travelling along the Northeast Corridor to Boston for a pre lunchtime arrival. After transfer to the hotel, the rest of the day is free to explore the sights and sounds of Boston or to travel on MBTA commuter service from either Boston North or South Stations. Overnight in hotel.

The day is free to spend as you please. Why not ride Amtrak Downeaster service to Portland, Maine or explore Boston’s extensive commuter rail network operated by MBTA. Overnight in hotel.

The day is free to spend as you please. Many non rail options exist in Boston so why not explore the Colonial heritage of this vibrant city. Overnight in hotel.

The morning is free, with departure on board the Lakeshore Limited scheduled for 11.55am. Overnight on train.

Arrival in Chicago Union Station is scheduled for 9.35am. Left luggage facilities are available at Union Station as our party will not be able to check into the hotel until after 2pm. The day is free to explore Chicago or to ride Metra commuter rail or Amtrak service. Overnight in hotel.

Today is a free day in Chicago before flying back to the UK on an overnight flight. Options include travelling on Metra, South Shore or Amtrak services or, if you wish, why not spend the day relaxing in the city’s tourist hotspots. Overnight flight.

A morning arrival in the UK brings the trip to an end.

New York City is home to three commuter rail networks as well as being the centre of operations for Amtrak in the Northeast Region. CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railroad provide the bulk of freight service in the area but it is also possible to see regional and shortline operations in and around New York. Detailed below are the operations of the various passenger train operators.

This is the busiest commuter railroad in North America. Operating from New York’s Pennsylvania (Penn) Station to destinations on Long Island the railroad carries some 265,000 passengers a day on 735 services. The longest possible journey on Long Island Railroad is the 120mile journey from Manhattan to Greenport, just one of 11 branch lines that the railroad operates over. The only branch which does not serve the station at Jamaica is the Port Washington branch. Most services are operated by electric multiple units powered through a third rail although a fleet of straight diesel and dual mode diesel and electric locomotives operate services along branches with no third rail. The dual mode locomotives are used to work through trains into Manhattan from non electrified branch lines although this is restricted to peak hours only. Two further termini are situated on Long Island at Long Island City and Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn.

Freight service on Long Island is provided by a subsidiary of Long Island Railroad, the New York and Atlantic Railroad although due to the density of passenger service freight tends to operate at night.

B) Metro North Railroad.

Operating from New York City’s magnificent Grand Central Terminal, Metro North Railroad serves communities in upstate New York at Poughkeepsie and Wassaic as well as providing service to New Canaan, Danbury, Waterbury and New Haven in Connecticut. Electric service is provided by a fleet of third rail electric multiple units between New York and Croton Harmon on the route to Poughkeepsie and to Southeast on the route to Wassaic. Another fleet of electric multiple units operate on the routes to New Canaan and New Haven. These operate on third rail as far as New Rochelle and then change over to overhead power collection for the rest of the journey. Metro North also operates a fleet of General Electric built, dual mode locomotives designated DASH9-P32ACDM which operate on third rail whilst departing Grand Central Terminal and then change to diesel for the rest of the journey. They operate all services to Poughkeepsie as well as limited stop service to Croton Harmon and peak hour only through service from New York to Danbury, in Connecticut and along the Wassaic branch. Outside of the peak hours connecting diesel service is provided at Southeast, for Wassaic, at South Norwalk, for Danbury and at Bridgeport, for Waterbury. This connecting service is provided by a fleet of locomotives built by Brookville Equipment Company and are designated BL20GH, being a 2000hp diesel electric. Some of the locomotives carry the former New Haven Railroad paint scheme of red and black and are owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) but used on a common user basis with Metro North Railroad.

Operating from New York’s Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal, New Jersey, New Jersey Transit serves communities across New Jersey. Routes served from New York Penn Station are the Morris and Essex route to Dover, NJ, Montclair/Boonton Route to Montclair State University, NJ, with connecting diesel hauled service to Hackettstown, NJ, North East Corridor to Trenton, NJ and North Jersey Coast Line to Long Branch, NJ, with connecting diesel hauled service to Bay Head, NJ. Services are operated by a mix of electric multiple units and electric locomotives with passenger coaches being a mixture of older single deck cars and recently purchased double deck cars which have been built to a special gauge to fit through the Hudson River Tunnels. Interchange with other routes radiating from Hoboken Terminal is provided by a specially built interchange station at Secaucus Junction.

Hoboken Terminal provides diesel hauled service to Spring Valley, NY, Port Jervis, NY, Hackettstown, NJ, and through peak hour service to Bay Head, NJ. Electric service is provided to Gladstone, NJ, with some peak hour duties to Dover, NJ being covered by electric locomotives. The only route which does not serve either Hoboken or New York directly is the Raritan Valley branch which operates from Newark Penn Station and is diesel hauled. NJT also operates a “light rail” service from Trenton to Camden, NJ, known as the River Line. This is operated by a small fleet of modern, light weight, diesel multiple units. Again, coaching stock is mainly single deck cars although some services are now worked by the newer double deck coaching stock.

Motive power on New Jersey Transit is currently being updated with all but two of the ALP44 electric locomotives now withdrawn. The two remaining locomotives are used as power for the joint New Jersey Transit/Amtrak ACES service operating direct from New York to Atlantic City and serving the casino trade in this coastal resort. ALP46 electric locomotives now dominate electric hauled services on NJT with some short haul services being covered by a fleet of electric multiple units. Services operated by diesel locomotives can be worked by any of the NJT fleet, observations suggesting that there is no set service group for the many different classes of diesel engine. The oldest power is the small fleet of Motive Power Industry rebuilds of former freight GP40FH-2 locomotives from 1987. Newest diesel power are the Alstom built PL42AC locomotives of 3620hp. NJT also has some F40’s as well as other rebuild classes and by the time of our visit some of the newer Alstom ALP45DP, dual power locomotives will be in service. Twenty of these machines have been ordered so that diesel branches can have direct service to New York Penn, diesel locomotives being banned from the underground sections approaching New York Penn Station. These dual power locomotives have a 5360hp electric capability and two 2100hp diesel engines for a combined output of 4200hp in diesel mode.

Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor service group runs through New York’s Penn Station with trains serving many destinations, including Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington to the South and New Haven and Boston to the North. Keystone service to Philadelphia and Harrisburg also operates from New York Penn and along with Regional Northeast Corridor service is worked by electric locomotives from either the AEM7 fleet or the newer HHP8 locomotives. Plans currently exist to replace the entire fleets of AEM7’s and HHP8’s with a design based on the Eurosprinter, currently designated the ACS64. If this order goes ahead some AEM7 locomotives will be converted to cab cars so that NEC Regional trains can be operated in push pull mode. High speed service between Washington D.C., New York and Boston is provided by a fleet of ACELA express train sets powered by two HHP6, 6000hp electric power cars at either end of the stock. These train sets are Business and First Class only and are a premium offering to normal Regional services on the Northeast Corridor.

Amtrak’s Empire Corridor service also operates from New York Penn Station along the Hudson River to serve destinations in Upstate New York, including Albany, Syracuse, Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Amtrak also serves Toronto and Montreal in Canada with one daily departure to each destination as well as a daily service to Rutland, Vermont. Motive power for these trains are the fleet of GE built DASH9-P32ACDM dual mode, third rail electric and 3200hp diesel locomotives. Some service change to the ubiquitous DASH9-P42B locomotives at Albany Rensselaer station for journey’s to onward destinations.

Amtrak also operates Long Distance passenger service from New York Penn to Miami, FL and to Chicago via both Washington D.C./Cincinnati and Buffalo/Cleveland with the Cardinal and Lakeshore Limited respectively. Long Distance Regional service is provided to Savannah, GA, Charlotte, NC, Pittsburgh, PA and St. Albans, VT. All trains except the Lakeshore Limited depart New York with electric power changing to diesel en route. The Lakeshore Limited uses a DASH9-P32ACDM for the run from New York to Albany, changing to a DASH9-P42B for the onward journey to Chicago.

Commuter service in and around Boston is provided by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority or MBTA for short. Service radiates from two Downtown Boston stations, Boston North and Boston South. Services radiating from Boston North station serve communities on routes to Rockport, Newburyport, Haverhill, Lowell and Fitchburg. Boston South services cover routes to Greenbush, Forge Park, Providence, Stoughton, Middleborough, Kingston, Plymouth, Needham, Reedham and Worcester. All services are operated by diesel locomotives hauling a mixture of single and double deck cars.

The current diesel locomotive fleet is made up of GM F40PH locomotives from 1990-91 as well as refurbished F40PHM-2C and F40PH-2C from 2001 and Alstom GP40PH-2 locomotives from 1996-97. A fleet of 20 new locomotives has been ordered to replace the oldest locomotives. These are being built by Motive Power Industries using the General Electric GEVO engine series and being designated HSP-46AC rated at 4650hp. Delivery is expected to commence in 2013 at which time the F40PH locomotives will be withdrawn from service.

B) Amtrak.

Amtrak provides service from both Downtown Boston stations. Boston North station plays host to the State supported Downeaster service to Portland, Maine. This service is a major success story with recent improvements in track quality allowing the introduction of a fifth round trip. Two sets of stock operate the five round trips in push pull mode with a DASH9-P42B diesel locomotive providing power.

Northeast Corridor service from Washington D.C. terminates at Boston South station. Services are provided by AEM7 or HHP8 electric locomotives on Regional service and by ACELA Express trainsets on ACELA Business and First Class service.

The only long distance service operating from Boston is the Lakeshore Limited which provides service from Boston South to Chicago as a portion of the main service from New York to Chicago. The train operates independently between Boston South and Albany where it joins with the portion from New York for the journey through to Chicago. The train operates with Viewliner single deck sleeper cars and Amfleet coaches powered by a pair of DASH9-P42B locomotives.

Chicago.

Chicago has one of the most densely trafficked rail systems of any city in North America. Chicago Union Station is the hub of Amtrak’s long distance service group as well as State funded services to Wisconsin, Michigan and Missouri destinations. Also operating from stations in Chicago’s Downtown area are commuter rail services provided by Metra and the Northern Indiana Commuter District. Add into this mix the fact that six of the big seven freight railroads operate into and through Chicago and there becomes plenty for the railfan to do in Chicago and its suburbs. Detailed below are the operations of the various passenger train operators.

Operating on 11 routes radiating from Downtown Chicago and carrying over 250,000 passengers a day, Metra is the second largest rail operator in North America after the Long Island Railroad. Full details of Metra services can be found at www.metrarail.com . The 11 routes are broken down into service districts as follows:

The Union Pacific Railroad is contracted to operate 3 routes from Chicago’s Ogilvie Transportation Center. These are the former Chicago North Western Railroad routes and have the unusual distinction for North America of left hand running. The routes are as follows:

UPN – the UP North line from Chicago to Waukegan, Illinois with occasional service to Kenosha, Wisconsin.

UPNW – the UP Northwest line from Chicago to Harvard, Illinois with peak hour through service to McHenry, Illinois on a branch line from the main route at Pingree Road, Illinois.

UPW – the UP West line from Chicago to Elburn, Illinois. This route also has a regular freight presence as Union Pacific’s Proviso Yard is located on this route between Berkeley and Elmhurst stations.

All routes are operated by Metra’s F40PH-2 and rebuilt F40PH-3 locomotives on double deck Gallery cars, with the locomotive usually found on the country end of the stock.

These Metra operated services run from Chicago Union’s North Concourse, on three routes as follows:

MWD-N – the Milwaukee District North line from Chicago to Fox Lake, Illinois.

MWD-W – the Milwaukee District West line from Chicago to Big Timber Road, Illinois. This route has a regular freight presence as Canadian Pacific’s Bensenville Yard is located between Franklin Park and Bensenville stations.

NCS – the North Central Service from Chicago to Antioch, Illinois.

All routes are operated by diesel locomotives of F40PH-2,F40PH-3, F40PHM-2 and MP36PHS-3S designation and come from a common pool allocated to cover these routes and the Metra Heritage Corridor. Trains are formed of double deck Gallery cars and the locomotive is usually found on the country end of the stock.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway is contracted to provide service on the route from Chicago Union’s South Concourse to Aurora, Illinois. Apart from 5 MP36PH-3S locomotives, the bulk of services are hauled by the F40PHM-2 “Winnebago’s”. It is possible for some services to be worked by F40PH-2 locomotives allocated to Southwest Service as these locomotives are maintained at the BNSF facility at Chicago 14^th Street. All services are formed of a diesel locomotive hauling double deck Gallery cars with the locomotive usually at the country end of the stock. This route is heavily trafficked with freight and a constant procession of heavy coal, double stack inter-modal and manifest freight trains can be seen west of La Grange. It is not unusual to see faster inter-modal trains running parallel with slower coal and manifest freights along this 3 track section of railway.

These routes operate from Chicago Union’s South Concourse as follows:

HC – this is Metra’s Heritage Corridor service between Chicago Union and Joliet, Illinois. This service operates three morning inbound trains and three evening outbound trains. Daily servicing of the locomotives and stock for these trains is undertaken at the Milwaukee District depot at Western Avenue, where these trains are easily identifiable from the rest of the stock stabled at Western Avenue as they have their locomotives at the Chicago end of the rolling stock. Locomotives are provided from a common pool of engines available to the Milwaukee District, North Central and Heritage Corridor routes. Services are worked by a diesel locomotive on double deck Gallery cars with the locomotive at the country end of the stock departing Chicago Union for Joliet.

SWS – this is Metra’s Southwest Service route operating from Chicago Union’s South Concourse to Orland Park 179^th Street with onward peak hour service to Manhattan, Illinois. Additionally one round trip daytime service now operates to Manhattan. Daily servicing of the locomotives and stock for this route is carried out at BNSF Railways 14^th Street facility to the south of Chicago’s Union Station. As a result it is not unusual to find BNSF Railway allocated locomotives working on this route and vice versa. There is a small pool of 6 F40PH-3 locomotives allocated to cover 5 diagrams on this service with one turn double headed. Maintenance requirements can also see substitutions by F40PHM-2 locomotives from the BNSF pool. Services are worked by diesel locomotives on double deck Gallery cars with the locomotive usually found at the country end of the stock.

The Metra Rock Island Division operates from Chicago LaSalle Street station to Joliet, Illinois, on two routes via Blue Island Vermont Street. The main line runs direct via Washington Street on peak hours only. The Suburban Line operates an all day service via Beverly Hills and Morgan Park. Both routes combine at a junction to the south of Blue Island Vermont Street station. This station has platforms on both routes. Metra Rock Island operates diesel locomotive hauled double deck trains formed of Gallery cars with the diesel locomotive usually found at the country end of the stock. A mixture of locomotive types from F40PH-2, F40PHM-2 and MP36PH-3S can be found on Metra Rock Island services. The suburban line is unusual for a heavy rail operated route as stations are spaced at intervals of about ½ a mile, a spacing more suited to light rail operation. Joliet station is a good vantage point for freight and Amtrak services heading further into Illinois. BNSF Railway, Canadian National, CSX Transportation and Union Pacific all have routes operating through Joliet.

Electric train service operates on three branches from Chicago Millennium Station to University Park, Blue Island and 93^rd Street South Chicago. Metra Electric trains are formed of overhead electric self powered Gallery cars usually found working in pairs however in the peak up to 8 cars can be found working together. A railfan platform and viewing area has been opened at Homewood, Illinois and from this vantage point freight services from Canadian National and Amtrak passenger trains to Carbondale, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana can be seen along with the Metra Electric service to University Park.

Northern Indiana Commuter Rail operates one route from Chicago Millennium station to South Bend Airport, Indiana. The service is worked by double deck gallery style electric multiple units powered off overhead wires. The South Shore Line is notable for two reasons, firstly it features sections of street running through Michigan City and secondly it crosses a time zone boundary between its last two stations, changing from Central Time to Eastern Time. Check out the timetable at www.nictd.com .

Amtrak operates a mixture of long distance and State supported Regional trains from Chicago Union station. Chicago is Amtrak’s main hub for passengers travelling from West Coast to East Coast Destinations and vice versa with only the Silver Star, Silver Meteor, Coast Starlight and Sunset Limited long distance trains not originating or terminating in Chicago. Full details of all Amtrak services can be found at www.amtrak.com . Long distance trains tend to be formed with pairs of General Electric 4250hp P42 locomotives hauling Superliner double deck cars on routes to the West Coast as well as the City of New Orleans service to New Orleans, Louisiana, and Capitol Limited to Washington D.C. and on Amfleet single deck cars with Viewliner sleeping cars on other routes to the East. Regional trains can be formed of a mixture of either Amfleet cars or Heritage cars with a single P42 at one end and a Cab car at the other. Recently, problems with the traction motors on the P42 locomotives, has seen substitution by DASH8-P32BWH “Pepsi Can” locomotives.